The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-03-02
FACTS FOB THE CURIOUS.
The first public library in America was
,undad in New York in 17nl

The first public library in America was
founded in New York in 100.
The streams penetrating the Gogebic
iron range near the south shore of Lake
Superior are 80 black with discoloration
from the ore that fish cannot live in
them.
In the Trinity College Botanical Gar.
den, Dublin, tree has produced some
seedless and coreless pears from second
crop of blossoms, which lacked vitality
to form a core with seeds.
In Germany, till the reign of Charlie
magne at the close of the eighth century,
there were no towns except few that
had been erected on the Rhine and
Danube by the Romans. Lubec was the
first on the Baltic, being founded A.
D. 1140.
The discovery of an aqueduct which
probably dates back to the time of King
Solomon is reported from Jerusalem, and
it is confidently anticipated that the fur
ther excavation of it will bring to light
some extremely interesting and valuable
inscriptions.
The great church of St. Sophia at Con-
stantinople was built by Justinian, who
ruled the Byzantine Empire from A. D.
527 to SOS, and whose name is associated
with the great legal code which has
formed the bases of the law of most of
the nations of Europe.
The elephant, at all times an excellent
mountaineer, wanders up Kilimanjsro to
as great height as the buffalo, says
traveller. have not only seen his recent
traces, but at height of $4,000 feet I
actually saw three of these animals cross
ing nimbly stream-valley, and mount
ing with agility the steep slopes that
rose above the water.
At recent meeting of the Societe de
Biologie of Paris, paper was read by
DR.. Dubousquet-L Laborderie on skin.
grating, in which he described the ex-
pertinent OF grating the Skin of frog
on human subject whose feet had oeen
burned by moulten iron. On one of the
wounds were put four gratis of human
skin; on the other four gratis of frog
skin. All of them took firm hold on the
wounds. The frog-skin CRAFTS retained
their peculiar color for few days, and
then changed to the color OF the human
skin.
The Roman soldiers who built such
wonderful roads, and carried o weight
of armor and luggage that would crush
the average farm hand, lived on coarse
brown bread and sour wine. They were
temperate in diet, regular and constant
in exercise. The Spanish peasant works
every day, and dances half the night,
vet eats only his black bread, onion and
watermelon. The Smyrna porter eats
only little fruit and some olives; he
eats no beef, pork or murton; yet he
walks off with his 800 pounds. The
coolie, fed on rice, is more active, and
can endure more, than the negro fed on
fat meat. The heavy work of the world
is not done by men who eat the greatest
quantity. The fastest and longest
winded horse is not the biggest eater.
Moderation in diet seems to be the
prerequisite for endurance.
A gentleman in 1911 made bet of
1000 guineas that he would have coat
made in single day, shearing the wool
from the sheep, spinning and weaving
the same and manufacturing the gar
ment, all in single day. The wager was
decided at Newbury, England, June %,
1911, by John Coxeter Of Greenham
Mills near that town. At five o'clock
that morning Sir John Throckmorton
presented two Southdown sheep to Mr..
coxeter, and the sheep were shorn, the
wool spun, the yarn spoiled, warped,
loomed and wove, the cloth buried,
milled, rowed, dried, cleansed and
pressed, and put into the hands OF the
tailors at four o'clock that afternoon. At
twenty minutes past six the coat entirely
finished, was handed by Mr.. Coxetcr to
Sir John Throckmorton. In this con-
nection it should be borne in mind that
the machinery for spinning and weaving
was at that time by no means what it is
to-day, and the tai!ors had no sewing
machines to expedite their portion OF
the work.